Practice device for golf putting



. that golfers or others Patented Feb. 22, 1949 Application April 9,1946, Serial No. 660,759 In Great Britain April 28, 1945 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device by which golfers may practice puttingat home either in the garden or indoors on a carpet. The object of theinvention is to provide a simple device which may be laid down on a lawnor carpet so may practice putting at home in relative ease and comfortand which enables a dozen or more balls to be used in succession withoutinterfering with individual shots.

According to this invention the practice device comprises a box-likereceptacle preferably -of rectangular form having an opening throughwhich the balls may pass and a ring representing the hole in the greensupported above the open* ing near one end of the receptacle. The floorof the receptacle is provided with a substantial ridge behind the ringto retain in the rear part of the receptacle any balls which passthrough the opening beneath the ring and which may be Considered ashaving been holed."

According to one embodiment of the invention the device may be providedat its rear end and at either side thereof with a hinged flap, the twoflaps thus provided extending at right angles to the device when inoperative positions and acting to stop any balls which miss the openingat the front of the device rolling to distant and inaccessible places.By making the flaps hinged they may be folded compactly against the sideof the receptacle when the device is not in use so as to occupy theminimum of space and the flaps may also be made detachable so that theymay be easily removed, should they not be required.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanyingsheet of drawings which illustrates one embodiment of the invention byway of example. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view with extension flaps for preventing ballsrolling beyond the device, in their operative position.

Fig. 2` is a similar View a closed position, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing how the lapsmay be detachablyconnected to the device.

Referring to the drawings the device comprises an elongated rectangularreceptacle I of about fifteen inches long, four and a half inches wideand having upstanding walls 2 along two sides and one end wall 3 abouttwo and one half inches high. At the other end the sides are radiused ordirected inwardly as at 4 to a front opening 5 of about three incheswide or slightly more, Over the front of the device is a ring 6representing the hole and this is preferably painted white so as butwith said flaps in to be readily seen by the user. The upstanding sidesof the receptacle are curved inwardly at their forward ends i tocorrespond with the shape of the ring which is supported thereby. Thefloor i of the receptacle is cut away at 8 beneath the ring 6 so that noobstruction is oiered to the free entry of the balls through the opening5. Just behind the ring '5, the iioor 'I is formed with an upwardlyprojecting ridge 9 over which each ball, after entering the receptacleI, will pass into the rear part thereof and this ridge 9 will preventthe balls from again rolling or rebounding back so as to obstruct theopening. The floor 1 and inner walls of the receptacle may be lined withfelt or other soft padding material to further reduce the possibility ofthe balls bouncing back toward the opening. In the rear wall 3 may beprovided a hole 3a into which the user may hook his putter in order totip up the device and thus empty out any balls collected therein.

To prevent balls which miss the front opening 5 rolling beyond thedevice the rec-eptacle I is provided at its rear end and at each sidethereof with a hinged flap Ii). In an operative position the two flapsIl! extend outwardly at right angles to the receptacle so as to stop anyballs which miss the opening 5 and roll along the side of the container.A convenient method of securing each flap to the receptacle comprises ahinge plate II riveted or otherwise secured to each side wall 2 of thereceptacle and which is formed at its rear edge with a bent over portionI2 which constitutes a socket for receiving a hook-like member I3provided at the inner end of each iiap I0. This member I3 may comprisethe vertical limb of an L-shaped rod or wire having its horizontal limbi4 engaged in a beaded over part I5 of the ap I0. The device may be usedon any carpet or lawn without any marking, cutting or damage thereto andenables golf-ers or others to practice putting in an easy but effectivemanner. A considerable number of balls may be used in succession andthose which donot enter the opening 5 at the front of the receptaclewill be deflected aside by the radiused sides and stopped by the sidewings I0. When a. number of balls have collect-ed in the receptacle,they may be readily tipped out thus avoiding frequent bending down bythe golfer.

I claim:

l. A device for practicing golf putting, comprising a box-likereceptacle having a floor, upstanding rear and side walls and an opentop, an opening at the front end, a ring representing the hole in thegreen supported by the side walls and positioned adjacent the frontopening,

said floor being cut away throughout the area beneath said ring.

2. A device for practicing golf putting, as recited in claim 1, in whichthe iioor is provided with a rounded low ridge positioned just behindsaid ring, to prevent rebounding balls from rolling back into the areabeneath said ring.

3. A device for practicing golf putting, as recited in claim 1, in whichthe rear Wall is provided with a hole of such size as to accommodate agolf putting, head whereby the rear end of said receptacle can be liftedto cause balls contained therein to roll over said floor and out saidopening at the front end.

WILLIAM FINDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS

